This year I wanted to can salsa again, and I’d just had a little bit of that Mexican salsa (served with a quesadilla at a local organic restaurant, if you’re curious) and it reminded me that that was what I wanted to go for. So, I set into my kitchen with 54 lbs. of tomatoes and decided to use some of them to make a small batch of salsa. If it was just “okay” I’d have a few pints to eat up through the year and that would be it. If it was great, I’d make more batches. It’s pretty safe to say I’ll be making more. 🙂

@Carl. My wife is Mexican and I’ve traveled there many times; particularly the state of Michoacán where she’s from. In Mexico, the sauce that you make is called a “Salsa Cruda” (Raw Sauce). It is perfectly fine to make it without frying/simmering since it’s just one of the MANY ways to make a sauce in the Mexican kitchen. I must say that adding cumin to a sauce is more typical of Tex Mex than the authentic Mexican style sauce. Also, lime is only added to something such as pico de gallo. Salsa verde is another sauce that made by cooking tomatillos, jalapeños and a couple garlic cloves in slightly boiling water for about 10 min. Once the tomatillos are cooked, you add them with a little bit of the cooking water, the chilies, garlic, a piece of white onion, cilantro and salt to a food processor. This is carefully processed due to the hot liquid. Tomatillos can be pretty acidic so a pinch of sugar can be added to counter that. I’ve been in a ranch in Michoacán where they cooked a goat over a wood fire. I saw them make the “birria” (typical Mexican sauce for roasted meats) over the same wood fire. It picked up the smoke taste and I’ll tell you, it was the best BBQ goat that I EVER had!

On adjusting recipes: I know you want to “make this your own,” but with canning recipes, you can only do so much. It’s important for food safety to have the proper ratio of acidic to non-acidic foods. The tomatoes are acidic, but the peppers, onions, and garlic are not. That’s why you must add the vinegar, and you can’t really mess with the amounts of peppers. You could, however, fiddle with green peppers and colored bells, or sub some of the jalapenos out for a milder pepper if you don’t like it so spicy. Just don’t be too generous with your helpings and overdo the amounts. That’s one thing I love about this recipe – it gives quantities in cups, rather than forcing me to scratch my head and wonder which onion is “small” and which green pepper fits the “medium” category. See this article on Modifying Canning Recipes and Food Safety for more details.
Chop all of the ingredients. To make things easier, you can use your food processor. I did one batch chopping everything by hand and one roughly chopping using the food processor and they results were really similar. If you want your salsa to have more texture, then I recommend chopping the tomatoes by hand and using the food processor for everything else.
I made several batches of this salsa last year. The very best salsa. Everyone loves this salsa. Planting a lot more tomatoes this year. Plan on making & canning a room full of this salsa. I can’t wait for canning time. The very best salsa ever. Gave so much to friends & family & everyone wants more. I even decorated my jars & gave some for gifts. Love it
This dish should be baked at the previously mentioned temperature for 25 to 35 minutes or until the chicken is tender and juicy. At this point, all of its juices should run clear. Once this task is done, then the cheddar cheese should be spread over the chicken halves before the dish is sent back into the oven for three to five minutes. During this time, the cheese will have the chance to melt over top of the chicken. It can be served hot and bubbly, and sour cream can be served on it by option.
Hi, Sommer, I was pointed to your blog by Cory Kowalski. I immediately saved your detox soup recipe AND the salsa one. I love salsa and love making it, but I can’t eat as much as I’d like to because I have kidney disease (and tomatoes aren’t good for me). I am going to try making a salsa with an extra dose of tomatilos, substituting them for some of the tomatoes. I’ll let you know how it comes out. BTW, I can’t find a ‘follow’ button on your site — except pointing to Pinterest, which I know nothing about.
On adjusting recipes: I know you want to “make this your own,” but with canning recipes, you can only do so much. It’s important for food safety to have the proper ratio of acidic to non-acidic foods. The tomatoes are acidic, but the peppers, onions, and garlic are not. That’s why you must add the vinegar, and you can’t really mess with the amounts of peppers. You could, however, fiddle with green peppers and colored bells, or sub some of the jalapenos out for a milder pepper if you don’t like it so spicy. Just don’t be too generous with your helpings and overdo the amounts. That’s one thing I love about this recipe – it gives quantities in cups, rather than forcing me to scratch my head and wonder which onion is “small” and which green pepper fits the “medium” category. See this article on Modifying Canning Recipes and Food Safety for more details.
karinagw, thank you for the glowing report! We also enjoy salsa with a little more texture. Next time you can add more peppers for extra spice. We have several friends who don't enjoy the flavor of cilantro, either. One says it tastes like dirt! So we have experimented with cilantro-less salsa and found a little lime rounds on the flavors. Thanks again for your feedback. Have a great week.
If you live in a town with a noticeable Mexican or Latin American community, chances are you’ll be able to find a specialty store carrying these goods, if not there’s always the good, old, world wide web. Many websites carry and even specialize in Mexican and Latin American ingredients. If you live in Denmark like me, try out chilihouse.dk for example, they’re a great one stop resource and they’re not even paying me to say that!
Roast the ingredients until they start showing some blistering and look slightly softened, turning them to make sure they roast evenly. The garlic cooks in a few minutes and you will need to remove it, peel the skin, and set aside. The roasting process will take about 8 minutes. If your tomatoes don’t look to softened, wrap them in aluminum foil for about 10 minutes, this will help them to finish cooking.
Hi Laurie, I want to thank you for your quick reply! You were right about the equal amounts of cider vinegar and lemon juice, it did give the salsa a bit of a Strange but not bad taste to it. I’m still hoping that the zing gets better as it sits though, or will the flavor be more pronounced? Either way, I’m still going to add more fresh tomatoes and other ingredients to it before I serve it to give it a fresher taste and maybe that will help. Thank you for your time
Thanks for such a great, informative website in regards to canning! We homeschool and I am teaching our kids a unit on canning. I’d done plenty of canning before but had always been scared/intimidated to modify recipes in the LEAST because I didn’t understand the science behind the process. Thanks to your website I’m starting to understand a lot more!!! This is especially helpful to be able to explain things to my science-minded “why” kid who wants to know EVERYTHING! I can’t wait to try more of these recipes!
I am on my second batch and I bought 20 lbs. of tomatoes at the Farmers Market to offset my own tomatoes which I did not have enough of…..I left them out on patio for about 4 days……I have been working on this salsa all day…..I actually ended up with 17 cups of tomatoes in the end…….I adjusted the measurements of everything else accordingly and it is turning out great…..my husband loves it…..so do I……I had given away too much though and have to make more…..this time I am making it a little bit hotter……maybe I won’t get asked for more if I make it hotter…..lol Anyway, just wanted to let you know that this is my only salsa recipe that I will make now……excellent!!!!!
This is how I make mine, minus the Cumin. I’m going to try it the next time I make a batch. Family and friends are always asking me to make them some. It’s so easy and sooooo good!! Sometimes I can it too. All you have to do is put it on the stove and heat it up slowly, then into your cleaned and prepped mason jars. It keeps for about 3-4 months unopened.

OMG this is so good!! I made a batch at 7am for a bbq this afternoon and ate half of it for my breakfast, so had to replenish it with another can of tomatoes (only had a can of chopped tomatoes left, which worked fine, plus another pinch of all the other ingredients… Amazing! Only thing I had to change was using garlic powder as I had no fresh, still fine. Used 1 green chili and half a red, no seeds, perfect! And 1/4 tsp sugar, as I’m not a huge fan of sweetness. Thank you so much, this is my go to Salsa now :)) Going to make your hummus now too!

Hi Lisa, yes, all the sources I’ve read say that bottled lime juice can be substituted for vinegar. Bottled is the key, not freshly squeezed. And adding some roasted green pepper should be perfectly fine as well. But if you have any doubt you can always buy some pH test strips (you can find them online, like on Amazon) to make sure the acidity level is correct.
Adela’s recipe is so simple that it’s perfect for those who are intimated about using dried chiles. It also perfect for all the dried chile lovers out there! She would always use chile de arbol, which is a tiny chile that really packs a spicy punch. Unlike other dried chiles, you don’t have to remove any of the seeds. Making this salsa recipe even easier! I recommend starting with 10-15 chiles and adding even more if you like things super spicy.
Tomatoes are the most important ingredient. The fresher they are the better your salsa will taste. Look for the ripest ones you can find. Getting a good char on the vegetables is another key to developing the flavor. The lime juice brightens and enhances the flavor. The recipe calls for two serrano peppers but only add one if you want to reduce the heat.
Tomatoes are the most important ingredient. The fresher they are the better your salsa will taste. Look for the ripest ones you can find. Getting a good char on the vegetables is another key to developing the flavor. The lime juice brightens and enhances the flavor. The recipe calls for two serrano peppers but only add one if you want to reduce the heat.
Have sterilized pint jars and lids and screw caps ready (they should all be washed in very hot water). Use a canning funnel and ladle hot salsa into jars, leaving a ½-inch head space. Wipe rims clean with a damp cloth and carefully place lid on and screw cap in place. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, then place upright on counter for 24 hours (see recipe notes for link to USDA Canning Guidelines). You will hear popping sounds as the jars seal. If after 24 hours, any haven't sealed, put in refrigerator to use now.
I continued looking for the perfect canned salsa recipe and finally found the one that is now our favorite in a book from the library that published only tested recipes (I wish I had the title, but I just copied the recipe all those years ago before blogging). It used just one small can of tomato paste and only 3/4 cup of vinegar, so it’s still thick and the vinegar doesn’t overpower the flavor. (NOTE: according to the USDA, it is safe to substitute bottled lemon juice for the vinegar in this recipe if you wish, but NOT the other way – it is not safe to substitute vinegar for lemon juice in other recipes, since lemon is more acidic than vinegar.)

When I was pregnant with my son, I was completely addicted to Chili’s salsa and chips. I wanted to eat there ALL the time, and even when I wasn’t eating there I was trying to convince my husband to stop there on his way home to pick up some take out lol. He was always less than pleased. I still love their salsa, but since it’s not really cost effective to buy it, or go out to eat all the time, I figured that I would just find a way to make it at home 🙂

Thinking of making this but I’m from Texas and I like my salsa spicy. I don’t like salsa that tastes like bland tomatoes or like a can of Rotel. I like it spicy but not lips on fire hot. If I left the seeds and membranes in the jalapeños would it be too hot? I’m also not sure about sugar or green peppers in the salsa. I definitely don’t want sweet salsa. What recommendations can you give me to make the salsa with some kick to it?
The salsa will have a more desirable consistency if skins, seeds and cores are removed prior to processing. Skins can be easily removed by blanching the tomatoes. To blanch, place batches of tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Immediately submerge the boiled tomatoes in a bowl of ice water. The skins will easily peel off, and the peeled tomatoes can be sliced, cored and seeded, chopped, then drained of excess water.
I am on my second batch and I bought 20 lbs. of tomatoes at the Farmers Market to offset my own tomatoes which I did not have enough of…..I left them out on patio for about 4 days……I have been working on this salsa all day…..I actually ended up with 17 cups of tomatoes in the end…….I adjusted the measurements of everything else accordingly and it is turning out great…..my husband loves it…..so do I……I had given away too much though and have to make more…..this time I am making it a little bit hotter……maybe I won’t get asked for more if I make it hotter…..lol Anyway, just wanted to let you know that this is my only salsa recipe that I will make now……excellent!!!!!
Salsa IS its own food group. Or at least it should be and while we’re at that we could decide it counts as one of your five a day, too ;). I eat salsa every day yet sadly can’t find my favourite organic brand [and there actually is only one brand and kind of organic salsa available in anyway] anymore living in the countryside now. The only ones available contain sugar and even though it’s not a ton I don’t like the fact. At least my dippers are vegetables.

Hi Heather – from all the reading I did on that recipe, the lady who created the recipe, Annie, developed it and had it tested at her local extension office years ago. There are a lot of threads on the Garden web forum – I looked for a few minutes and couldn’t find the original thread I had read but here’s a couple that might help (there’s LOTS of discussion on there about the proper way to make the salsa without messing up the pH levels and making it unsafe):

Adela’s recipe is so simple that it’s perfect for those who are intimated about using dried chiles. It also perfect for all the dried chile lovers out there! She would always use chile de arbol, which is a tiny chile that really packs a spicy punch. Unlike other dried chiles, you don’t have to remove any of the seeds. Making this salsa recipe even easier! I recommend starting with 10-15 chiles and adding even more if you like things super spicy.

To start this recipe off, take out a medium-sized mixing bowl. Then, combined the tomatoes, onion, garlic, lime juice, tomatillo, and salt to taste into the mix. These items need to be mixed well and thoroughly incorporated. If you want to add a kick into the salsa, then add half of the jalapeno. If you are looking for something with a greater kick, then you can rely on the other half of the jalapeno. This dish needs to be refrigerated and chilled thoroughly before it is served for the best results.
For a hot salsa, I use 4 jalapenos with the seeds. For a mild salsa, I seed 1-2 of the jalapenos before chopping. Remember that the heat will lessen as the salsa sits, so I tend to error on being spicy than not. However, you can taste while it’s cooking so if you want more, you can always add more. It’s hard to correct spice level so if you don’t like things spicy, then start with only 1 jalapeno and go from there.
i have found adding a small amount of cucumber (just the skin and flesh, not the watery seedy part) to fresh salsa really intensifies/perks up the “fresh flavour” with the cilantro! have never gone back now that i have tried it…learned this tip in Puerto Morelos this year from a local….just add it to the blending stage in a recipe so the flavour is evenly distributed
Explain, please, about tomato peels. My tomatoes are quartered or smaller, still with peels. What are the safety consequences? Also, BTW, thanks for the update on steam canners. I’ve used one for years (and for you canning newcomers, they’re cheap at Goodwill, etc.), with the reluctant, hard-won approval of a food science pro, only on condition of his anonomity (because of that research issue). Glad to know approval is now official!